Ranma's Ignorance
by SSJ Guyver1
Summary: Ranma's dead?!?!,... Then who is that working at Pia Carrot!?!... Ranma is the new owner to the famous Restaurant, Pia Carrot. The girl by his side, is his new friend.
1. Ranma's Ignorance, Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : I do not own Ranma½ but am the rightful owner to those not recognized used in this story, and no way even pretend that I do.**

**check out my website for more updates**

****

** - SIGNS  
" " - Japanese  
* * = Thoughts**

**++++ = Flashback  
***** = Another place**

**Timeline - After the Jusendo incident... Ranma saved Akane's life by killing the god Saffron and using the water from the dragon tap.(1)**

************** Ranma's Ignorance ***************

**Part 1 - Truth be known.**

To Ranma, this was his life. To those who have never visited, nor heard of Nerima, this would come as a surprising feat. Ranma was currently fighting his way through a crowd that laid in front of the school. For Nerima, as well as other places, this was a rare thing that had happened. Usually it was Akane who had the mob of boys attacking her in the morning. But this particular morning, the girls were trying their best to attack Ranma. Even going as far as using weapons and cheap tricks to throw him off guard. Nabiki watched with amusement as Ranma got hit in the head by a book bag that one of the scrawnier girls had been carrying. Smiling to herself, she patted herself on the back *That's probably the easiest one hundred thousand yen I've ever made* She turned her back to the window, her smile only increasing when she got a heated glare from her sister *Stupid bitch,.... all of the sudden the attention isn't on her, and it's on Ranma. Can she be anymore jealous?* she walked over to Akane's chair and smiled at her "Hey Akane, what's up?"

Akane growled under her breath before looking at her sister, her grip tightening around the desk "Hi Nabiki,... just getting mad at that pervert! Look at him, he enjoys having the girls fight over him!" Her grip on the desk tightened so much that the ends broke off as her aura increased around her "Just wait till I get my hands on that Baka!"

Nabiki smiled to herself as her plan seemed to be working *Hopefully Ranma-Kun will appreciate this.... I don't like to sell out my own family* She left Akane to herself and walked toward a desk that was empty. Sitting down, she tilted her head and looked out the nearest window as the commotion hit an all time high. She then remembered what had started this.

+++++++ two nights ago +++++++

Ranma-Chan was running. From what, was a mystery to everyone except for Ranma himself. She turned a corner and smacked into a couple who had been walking at the moment. Looking up and looking at the two, his eyes were swimming with water as Nabiki blinked at him, not sure whether it was the rain, or that Ranma-Chan was crying. Ranma jumped into Nabiki's arms and let out a small cry at the injustice of it all. This shocked Nabiki to the core, as she knew that Ranma was too proud to cry in front of anyone. He had always mentioned that 'Men don't cry' and then would drop the subject. Nabiki looked at the red head in her arms and asked in a shaky voice "R-Ranma?"

Pushing herself against Nabiki, the tears cascaded down his now her cheeks as her voice was nothing but a slight whisper "N-Nabiki... It was horrible"

Nabiki had barely made out what he was saying, and pulled her head away from her chest "What's wrong Ranko? What was horrible?"

Adverting her eyes from Nabiki's, the tears strengthened in force "A-Akane... Akane was" her voice trailed off again as sobs racked the small red-head's body.

This shook Nabiki to the bone when Ranma brought her little sister into the conversation "W-What's wrong with Akane?!?!" She shook the smaller girl with anger and fear "Ranma, Tell me!"

Looking up into Nabiki's eyes once again, her own were brimming with anger "She was fucking Ryoga!" Shaking with anger and betrayal, Ranma gripped onto Nabiki for life "I was walking down the street.... and I saw Akane being pulled into an alley! I was going to help her, but by the time I got there.... She was... She was....." Tears flowed from her eyes as the images played through his head once again.

Nabiki held Ranma gently as her mind reeled in the revelation *Akane,..... why did you do this?!?* She looked down at Ranma-Chan once again and sighed out, her heart aching at the sight.

+++++++ present +++++++

Nabiki sighed out as Ranma walked into the classroom, bruised, battered, and pure anger on his face. No one dared go near him for the fear of being beaten to a pulp. However, that didn't apply to one Akane Tendo, as she got out of her chair and marched over to him "Ranma you pervert!" She brought out her mallet and pulled back, getting ready to strike. Before Nabiki could say anything to stop Akane from attacking, Ranma had already stepped out of the way of the attack and launched his own. Ranma's leg lashed out and slammed into Akane's side, throwing her like a rag doll across the classroom. 

Walking over to her shaking body, Ranma glared down at her in utter hated "So,.... still think your Ms. I'm-a-Martial-Artist-too?" He then leaned down and was inches from her face, the hatred still in his voice as he said something only she could hear "I know about you and Ryoga.... "

Akane's eyes widened at the implications before she stood up, blushing crimson and holding her fists tightly "Ranma you hentai!" Ranma sneered at her when she made another mallet appear. Turning his back to her, he started to walk away and leave it how it was when he was attacked once again.

The door to the classroom was blown off of it's hinges as Ryoga ran in "Ranma Saotome, Prepare to die!" he then punched Ranma in the face and slamming him through the nearby wall "Ranma! How dare you hit Akane!" He checked on Akane as she blushed slightly and didn't look him in the eyes. Immediately thinking that Ranma had done something, his depression his an all time high "Damn you! Shi Shi Hadoken!" he plunged Ranma deep into the greenish black ball of Ki, as it slammed into Ranma's chest and made him grunt in pain. Smirking to himself, he proceeded to help Akane back onto her feet, having been blown onto the ground by the blast.

Nabiki stared at the hole in surprise *Ryoga's never done anything like this before.... could... could what Ranma said that night be true?* She looked at Ryoga and Akane as they looked like a couple, fussing over Akane's bruise that shaped along her side. Nabiki's mind was recoiling in surprise as everything seemed to fall into place *That bitch,... she knew about P-Chan,.... god knows how long this has gone on...* Her eyes roamed back to the hole that Ranma had been blasted through *Poor Ranma...*.

The cement blocks that were loosely hanging from the wall fell to the ground as Ranma stepped out of the hole, his shirt ripped in multiple places "Ryoga...... just the bastard I was looking for" Ranma snarled and smirked at the same time, which made everyone nervous. Cracking his knuckles, Ranma started to laugh, the insanity of his life finally catching up with him. He flashed forward at a speed that Ryoga thought impossible. Within a millisecond, Ranma was in front of him and slammed a straight fist into his stomach. Ryoga's eyes widened in terror and pain as he felt the blow to his stomach, and coughed up a small amount of blood. 

Random thoughts were circling around the classroom as the site played it's place "Did you see that?" "Yea, Saotome just decimated Ryoga in one punch!" One of the girls screamed out as Ranma didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon "R-Ranma's going to kill him!"

Sneering at Ryoga, Ranma gripped him by the neck and lifted him into the air, red Ki swirling around his body "So,.. P-chan,... How was she?" seeing Ryoga's widened eyes, he took it as true and dropped him, but not before spinning around and sending his heel deep into his ribcage. Not being able to withstand such power, a cracking noise filled the air as Ryoga screamed out in pain. 

Ryoga got to his feet, but not before spitting out a large amount of blood "R-Ranma,..... because of you I've seen hell!" he ran toward Ranma and pulled back to punch him. When he let the punch move forward, Ranma slammed his head against the fist, stopping most of the power and shattering Ryoga's knuckles.

When Ryoga pulled back and was gripping his hand in pain, Ranma chuckled darkly "You don't honestly think that you've seen hell, do you? Since your so bent on me sending you there... I'll prepare your casket" Ranma was about to rush Ryoga again, with a murderous intent, but was stopped when Nabiki gripped him from behind "What the hell are you doing Nabiki! Let me GO! I'm going to kill this son of a bitch!"

Ranma tried to throw her off of him, but it was either a unconscious act of kindness, or the she had a tight grip on him, but she did not even budge "Ranma! Don't! You'll regret it for the rest of your life! Leave it at this, you've humiliated him in front of the school!"

Growling under his breath, Ranma glared over his shoulder at Nabiki, his eyes catching a small concern in Nabiki's own "Fuck that! I am going to tear his spine out!" his eyes swirled back back to Ryoga, who was now in front of him and pulling back a punch. With a surprising shock, Ryoga punched Ranma in the face and threw him backward toward the wall. Something snapped in Ranma's mind as his aura blazed around him and defied gravity, his body spinning in mid-air and twisting so that he was the one to get hit instead of Nabiki. Ranma slammed face first into the concrete wall and didn't budge from it.

Nabiki released her hold on Ranma and fell to the ground before looking from him and back to Ryoga who was now cackling about his defeat of Ranma "R-Ranma,.... he did it to save me...." Her look went back to Ryoga as she walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face "You bastard! You could have killed me!"

Ryoga gave a non-caring shrug before looking at Nabiki "What do I care? If your not Akane, then you don't deserve my protection"

Nabiki stared at him like he was stupid before Ranma's words played through her mind "I thought it was a martial artist's duty to protect the weak!"

Snorting in disgust, Ryoga lowered a glare at her "I don't care about that crap. All I care about is defeating Ranma!"

Akane ran over to Ryoga, pushing Nabiki out of the way in the mean time "Ryoga! Your so strong!" Ryoga then brought a hand behind his head and scratched it nervously before letting out a maniac like laugh. Most of the people in the classroom were wondering what was going on, and were about to ask. However, when the first one took a step forward, the classroom shook slightly. A slight chuckling noise came from the area that Ranma was currently embedded in, as his aura flashed and destroyed the wall around him.

Ranma turned around and stared at Ryoga with blood filled pupils "So,... the truth comes out" Ranma brought his hand up and wiped away some of the blood from his face and snarled "Let's see just how strong you are... bacon breath" Not even sparing a second, Ranma's body blurred and slammed into Ryoga, throwing him through the window. Ranma quickly jumped out after him and rapidly threw a flurry of punches into his chest with a shout of "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!" As the ground sped toward them, Ranma made no motion to stop his attack. As soon as Ryoga slammed against the ground, Ranma's knee was planted deep within Ryoga's stomach, doubling him over in pain. Getting to his feet, Ranma placed a palm toward Ryoga's head and charged it with Ki "Are you ready?".

Before he could get off the blast, a gunshot rang out and Ranma's arm erupted with blood "Freeze!" Ranma's eyes looked at the police that were currently surrounding him, guns drawn. Ranma weighed his odds, before accepting his defeat and raising his good hand into the air. Police swarmed around him, and applied the cuffs to his wrists. As a ambulance pulled up, the medical team jumped out and started to diagnose Ryoga.

One of the medical team looked at Ryoga's vitals, before staring at Ranma in shock "This boy..... he'll never... walk again!"

Ranma chuckled to himself before giving a grin "Good, then I got my point across."

The girl from the medical team walked up to Ranma, tears in her eyes, as she pulled back and slapped him across the face "You bastard! Don't you even care that you've crippled this man?!?!"

Bursting out in laughter, Ranma leaned forward and stared into the girls eyes, making her flinch "Why should I? This bastard" He shook his head toward Ryoga's groaning form "has been trying to kill me for the past five years. Hell, he's almost killed innocents in the mean time!" He glared at the girl before softening his gaze "He's an honor less pig.... he does nothing for anyone except for himself" tears finally found their way from Ranma's eyes as he fell into unconsciousness. The girl, who was too surprised at his reaction, got to her knees and checked Ranma's body and gasped at what she found.

Lifting her head from Ranma's body, she yelled at the police that were trying to pick him up by the cuffs "Release him this instant! This man needs medical treatment!" The police instantly removed the cuffs as the girl turned Ranma over, and tried to hold her lunch in. Ranma's stomach has a deep gash that went vertical, almost to his throat. She started to apply pressure, in hopes of stopping the bleeding. However, she found herself fighting a losing battle. 

Nabiki then came running out of the building and looked at Ranma's blood filled form and gasped "Is he okay?!?"

The medical girl looked at the girl before shaking her head "This boy won't live through the night." Not noticing Nabiki's reaction, the girl looked over to Ryoga's body as it was being stitched up "What caused these two boys to do something so vicious?"

Nabiki choked back a sob as she fell to her knees, images of Ranma smiling and laughing flashing through her head "R-Ranma.....Why did you save me..." She then slammed her fists against Ranma's body, blood splashing out "Why didn't you save yourself!"

The girl turned her head toward Nabiki and blinked "Save himself....? What happened?"

Nabiki sobbed gently as tears flowed from her eyes "R-Ryoga attacked Ranma for doing something,... then Ranma retaliated. I tried to stop him from fighting, but Ryoga punched him and almost crushed me against a wall. Ranma twisted his body so that the blow would hit himself instead of me..."

The girl looked at Ranma's body, instantly wishing that she hadn't said what she did before "Oh,.... I-I'm sorry...." She sat beside Ranma's form as his head fell limp to the side. She then picked up his wrist and felt for a pulse, and shaking her head when she got none "H-He... he's dead"

Nabiki's eyes widened when she heard those words, and her heart shattered "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Nabiki then threw herself across Ranma's blood filled corpse and cried hard. When it was time to put Ranma's body into a body bag, the medical team pulled Nabiki off of his body. Nabiki stared at the pool of blood that laid on the ground, and then stared at her blood coated dress.

Akane chose this time to come up behind her "The Baka got what he deserved"

Gritting her teeth in anger, Nabiki turned and glared at her sister, pulled back and struck her across the face "Y-You bitch! He was your fucking fiancée!"

Fearing another fight was going to break out, the police gathered the two girls up as they were about to go at it "That bastard was always screwing behind my back!"

Struggling against the cop, Nabiki growled "Akane! Ranma constantly came to me in hopes of getting the fiancée deal situated! He wouldn't have done anything like this if he didn't catch you fucking Ryoga!"

Akane flinched back and blushed as she remembered that night "T-That wasn't my fault.... And why are you covering for him!?! Were you fucking him too?!?!"

Breaking free from the cops grip, Nabiki punched Akane in the face and sent her sprawling to the ground "If you didn't want him,... you should have asked ANYONE!" Akane got to her feet and was about to strike back, when she noticed all the females from the school glaring at her. Most of the boys were also sending hate filled stares in her direction "Everyone here had no problem with him, except for you, Ryoga, and Kuno!" Nabiki balled her first tightly "If you didn't want him. Then you should have said something instead of leading him on! Hell, even some of the teachers here wanted him!!!" Akane looked at everyone, nearly the entire school was glaring at her now. She wanted to escape from it all, but the police soon put her into custody.

TO BE CONTINUED__________

(1) - I think that is what it was called :D


	2. Ranma's Ignorance, Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : I do not own Ranma½, Pia Carrot but am the rightful owner to those not recognized used in this story, and no way even pretend that I do.**

**check out my website for more updates**

****

** - SIGNS  
" " - Japanese  
* * = Thoughts**

**++++ = Flashback  
***** = Another place**

************** Ranma's Ignorance ***************

**Part 2 - Blissful revelations**

It was a silent day at the Tendo household. Those who passed by and knew of it's past, would immediately speed up and try to get away. However, this day would never be like the rest. Ranma Saotome, the heir to the Anything goes school of martial arts,... was dead. Nabiki was in her room and going through some of the pictures that she had of Ranma's boy side. Kasumi was even in her room, her eyes puffy red from crying all night. Akane was outside in the dojo sparing with the cement blocks that always gave her a hard time. Soun was too busy crying his eyes out to notice that Genma had long ago, flown the coop. Back in Nabiki's room, the window flew open with a gust of wind, as a letter was carried inside. Walking to the floating letter, she grabbed it and looked at the front *It's to me,....* she then opened up the letter and read it aloud "Dear Nabiki, I'm sure by now that you know I'm 'dead'. If that were true, then you wouldn't get this letter. I need a favor from you... Bring Kasumi and yourself to the abandoned warehouse in the eastern district. Only you and Kasumi. Signed, Ranma" Re-reading the letter in pure surprise, she couldn't help but start crying in joy. She quickly got together a few of the pictures and then ran to Kasumi's room, not even knocking. She barged in and looked at Kasumi's still crying form and smiled "Kasumi-Chan,...."

Kasumi brought her sniffling to a close and looked at Nabiki, who seemed happy "Nabiki,.... what's wrong?"

Blinking slightly, Nabiki smiled again at Kasumi before handing her the letter "I just got this,... it's from Ranma!"

Taking the letter and reading it, Kasumi smiled too and started to laugh slightly "That's just like him.... when should we go?"

Nabiki looked at Kasumi's lack of shock, and couldn't help but shake her head "I think we should go now, and wait for him" Kasumi nodded her head and got up, wiping her eyes as they leave the house.

***** Warehouse *****

Ranma was dancing around the empty storage space, with the freedom and lack of tension that he's never ever experienced before. His punches and kicks were cracking loudly in the air as he snapped every attack. Landing on the ground and looking over at a door that opened, he smiled and mouthed a warm "Welcome" as Nabiki and Kasumi entered through the door and looked at Ranma in surprise.

Nabiki blinked slightly before running up to Ranma and gathering him in a tight hug "Ranma!,..." She started to cry, but quickly banished that emotion and looked up at him, a glare in her eyes "Ranma,... how did you live? The medical team told us you were dead!"

Ranma chuckled slightly and separated himself from her "The medical team you saw, were all of my friends who knew of Genma. I told them about what happened, and they agreed with me that it was time to get out of there. The whole idea with Akane and Ryoga sleeping together, was the perfect way to fake my death."

Kasumi walked up to Ranma, with a sweet smile on her face, and slapped him hard "Ranma-Kun,... you had me and Nabiki worried"

Cringing at Kasumi as she slapped him, he gave a sheepish laugh "Well, I didn't have to invite you here" That got their attention before they sighed and Ranma continued "Anyways, I just wanted to tell you two that I was fine, and I was going to continue on living without that bastard."

Nabiki looked at Ranma in surprise before sighing again "Ranma,... what about Akane"

Ranma's eyes hardened for a second, but didn't get a chance to say anything before another voice answered "Akane seems happy with Ryoga." Ranma chuckled before turning to the shadow that spoke. 

He then stepped out into the light as Ranma smiled "Glad you could make it Ono. Have any troubles?"

Shaking his head, Tofu smiled at them "Not at all. Just was hell getting in here without you sensing me"

Ranma smirked and chuckled slightly "Actually,... I knew you were there. You've been there since half way through my Kata"

Shaking his head once again, Tofu chuckled and smiled "I see, so it really is impossible to sneak up on you"

Kasumi smiled sweetly at Tofu and giggled "Hello Dr. Tofu"

Before Nabiki could do anything so that Tofu wouldn't know it was Kasumi, he had turned and looked at her "Well, hello there Kasumi-Chan. How are you this morning?"

Ranma noticed Nabiki's surprised look and then chuckled "Nabiki, I've cured him of that stupid fear of his. It wasn't hard, just had to confront him multiple times with the problem, until he got used to it. Anyways, down to business."

Another voice filled the air the a melody type sound "Ranma-Kun! Where are you?" Ranma grinned like the bird that ate the canary, before he disappeared into the shadows behind him. Tofu chuckled as Nabiki and Kasumi looked around in confusion. Suddenly a girl shouting into the air filled the warehouse with shock "Ah! Damnit Ranma!" A loud laugh filled the air as the girl chased Ranma "Get back here and take your punishment like a man!" Nabiki and Kasumi watched in shock as the girl seemed like a perfect Akane clone, except that she was better built, endowed, strawberry blond hair, and had dark blue eyes. Ranma finally stopped and picked the girl up, carrying her into the light "Mua,.. Ranma-Kun, I hate it when you do that"

Ranma only chuckled before placing her on the ground and looking to the two Tendo's "This is Mai Kinoshita. We've been together for almost two year now"

Mai bowed to everyone present and smiled "Nice to meet you finally. Ranma's told me a lot about you two" Ranma blushed slightly as both Nabiki and Kasumi looked at him suspiciously "Oh, please don't get the wrong idea. It was all good. Otherwise, would you be here meeting me?" She smiled at them before gripping onto Ranma's arm.

Kasumi looked at the two and couldn't help but blush "Ranma-Kun.... what about Akane?"

Tofu cleared his throat before smiling "Actually, like I was saying earlier. Akane seems happy without Ryoga, especially since she is pregnant with his kid"

Nabiki's mouth fell to the ground as she looked at the shocked Kasumi "A-Akane's pregnant?!?"

Ranma nodded gravely before sighing again "She's actually around four months into the pregnancy. I've known about her and Ryoga since the day he showed up. They've been doing IT since then" Ranma didn't even voice any surprise, he was cold and emotionless while speaking.

Mai sighed before pulling on Ranma again, getting him to turn his attention to her "But, that doesn't matter, right? She has Ryoga now, and we can finally be together"

Ranma smiled at her before pulling his arm from her hold, and putting it around her shoulder "Of course. This is the day we've waited for"

Nabiki was the first to speak up "Ranma,... how long have you and.. Mai.. been together?"

Ranma thought to himself before looking up and then chuckling "Around two years, remember? I said it earlier"

Nabiki blushed slightly before banishing it away "So,... you didn't try to make it work from the beginning? You've always had this planned out?"

Ranma thought again for a second, before chuckling one more "I'm a good actor, huh Nabiki? No, I did try making things work at one time. All I got was a headache and a mallet to the head for my troubles."

Mai glared at Ranma, before clearing her throat "You tried to make things work?"

Ranma sighed and looked to Mai, giving her a sad smile "Remember,... when you said that you didn't want me around anymore? That was the night before I had to go to Jusendo"

Nabiki's mind clicked before smirking "I see, so you told Akane you loved her then!"

Mai glared harder at Ranma "You love her?"

Ranma shook his head viciously and warded off any anger in his direction "NO! I said I LOVE _HER_" he blushed slightly before looking away "I was thinking about trying to make it work with Akane, when I came to the conclusion that I couldn't. I love you Mai, not her"

Mai blushed and looked away from him, giving a slight pout at not being able to tease him anymore "I understand..." she then smiled warmly when she looked back to the two Tendo's "Well then, since we're all together, how about we go get something to eat"

Nabiki looked at Kasumi, who was still wearing a shocked look from Akane's information "I guess,... but it will be Ranma's treat. For making us worry like that."

Mai giggled before turning and starting toward the exit "Of course it will, it's his restaurant."

Ranma noticed the small pang of sadness that was in her voice, before he ran over to her "So... does that mean....."

Nodding her head slightly, Mai tried her hardest not to cry "Papa died around three months ago.... he was taking care of a business trip, when a drunk driver hit him head on. The driver left the scene and made no attempt to help him"

Ranma gathered her into a warm and comforting hold before kissing the smaller girls forehead gently "I understand...... so... tell me this. How did I end up owning the place?"

Mai giggled sadly before pulling from Ranma's hold and looking at him "In case you didn't know, papa had grown fond of you during your visits. He knew you treated me well, and never had to worry about us" she looked away from him for a second before smiling wide once more "In the will, he left the restaurant Pia Carrot, to you"

Nabiki's eyes widened before staring at Mai "P-Pia Carrot? THE Pia Carrot?"

Mai brought a finger up to her lip before giving a mocking 'hmm' and then giggling at the incredulous look she was getting from Ranma "Yup, the one and only, Pia Carrot. Papa left it for Ranma to take over, whenever he got away from Genma."

Ranma smiled before sighing with sadness "Man,... and I was looking forward to talking to him again. He was quite the trouble maker" Ranma suddenly laughed before taking Mai by the shoulder and walking toward the exit "You guys comin? Tofu? Kasumi? Nabiki?"

Kasumi finally broke out her dream and smiled "Oh my, that would be enjoyable"

Nabiki sighed before looking from Kasumi, back to Ranma "Fine,... I guess I'll go...."

Ranma smiled before taking the initiative and walking through the exit, and into the bright sunlit streets of Nerima, as they headed toward the infamous Pia Carrot restaurant.

*************** Pia Carrot restaurant ****************

Aoi covered her mouth as Ryouko stifled a slight giggle "If your still tired from your party last night, Aoi, then you can certainly take a rest"

She waved it off slightly, as she once again yawned "It's not a problem, I'm just here to see the new hires.... but since they haven't arrived yet, I think we should hire the next three that appear."

Shaking her head in dismay, Ryouko sighed out "I don't think we can do that. What about their qualifications? What if they aren't what screams out 'We're Pia Carrot!'"

Aoi giggled at Ryouko's impression of a hard working person, before hearing a knock on the door "Quick! Just hire whoever is behind this door!" without waiting for an okay from her boss, Aoi opened the door and smiled at the two who stood there "Welcome to the Pia Carrot family! Your hired"

Ranma looked at the girl before blinking "Is it this easy to get hired in this place?"

Ryouko tried to stop Aoi from saying anything else, but failed miserably as she yelled out "Of course! We can tell just by looking at you, that you will make a fine addition to the Pia Carrot family! Of course, it's not because we're desperate for help or anything" She then went into a nervous rant of laughter, as Ranma and Mai just stared at her.

Shaking her head in dismay, Ryouko stood up and bowed toward Mai "Good evening Mai,... how are you this evening?"

Aoi looked at Ryouko and opened her mouth, before shutting it and turning toward Mai "M-Mai,... Mai Kinoshita?" her eyes started to well up when Mai nodded her head. She then ran out of the room as tears poured from her eyes.

Mai turned toward Aoi in order to comfort her, but was stopped when Ryouko sighed "There's nothing you can do Mai.... she had a crush on your father. His passing did nothing to help it. With that aside, what brings you here?"

Shaking her head in sadness, Mai nodded to Ranma "We're here because we want to work... We want to keep my father's dream alive"

Ryouko smiled at Mai and Ranma before clearing her throat "Of course,.. would you like to help too,.. umm..."

Ranma smiled at her and took a step forward, bowing slightly "Ranma,... and yes, I'm here to help as well"

Nodding her head in understanding, Ryouko smiled "Far be it for me to say otherwise,... congratulations. We have dorms beside the restaurant, so you two may stay there too.... assuming you haven't another place to go"

Giggling to herself, and at Ranma's blushing, Mai smiled again "Of course. We want to fit in here as well, so if you could,... could you keep our relationship on the need to know basis?" Ryouko nodded to her, earning another smile from the smaller girl "Good,... also, there is a dire need for my talking to you... alone." She nodded to Ranma, who in turn, nodded and walked out the door and shut it behind him "First off,.. Ranma has some guests that he wants to entertain for lunch,... assuming that won't be a problem" Seeing Ryouko shake her head, Mai giggled "That brings me to the final piece of news that you must keep to yourself, unless myself or Ranma deem appropriate"

Blinking her eyes in surprise, Ryouko couldn't wait to hear the news "And that is?"

Mai grinned like a bird that ate the canary "Ranma is the new boss of this establishment" giggling at Ryouko's fish out of water impression, Mai continued "As stated in my father's dying testament. Ranma is to take over as head of this business." Bringing a finger to her lips, she sighed "However, Ranma doesn't want the responsibility, since he just got away from a stressing arrangement. So, Ranma wishes for you to remain as the manager, and just let him have a final say in the important matters. Is that okay with you?"

Ryouko had finally got herself under control and nodded toward Mai "Of course it is,... so how should I treat you two then? If he is the boss, I can't be disrespectful to him, and since your the original owner's daughter, it would be rude to treat you without respect."

Bringing her finger to her lips once again, Mai smiled "Just treat us, like you would treat the other workers."

Just then the door slammed open again as a heavily breathing girl stepped in and raised a hand "I.. I... I'm here for... for the interview!" She got herself under control before smiling brightly "The name is Azusa!"

Ryouko looked over to Mai, who nodded in return, before smiling to the girl "Of course,... no need for an interview, you have the job"

The door slammed open again as a boy with black hair stepped in and looked about the room "I'm here about the job?"

Blinking in surprise, Mai shook her head "Sorry.." looking at the piece of paper she picked up "Kouji, we have no need for another worker. We just hired in three new people" Kouji just nodded, and walked out of the building, but not before giving Azusa a glare for making him late.

TO BE CONTINUED_________

Next time, on 'Ranma's Ignorance', Ranma and Mai start their Pia Carrot adventure, but not before a relaxing day at the pool. How does Ranko enter herself into this new storyline? Why does Shinji find himself attractive to the new 'red haired goddess'?


End file.
